When John Kennedy proposed de-institutionalizing people with chronic mental illnesses he committed the Federal Government to replace the closed institutions with a fully funded community based mental health system to replace the State Hospitals.

What is the government’s job in any advanced Democracy?

Its job is to represent the interests of every citizen regardless of his or her status as far as health, gender, sexual orientation, or race.

It is not the government’s job to represent a religion or the narcissistic demands of the wealthy elite.

It is certainly not the job of any branch of our government or political party to demonize a group of people in order to gain the support of an angry and superstitious sub-set of the population.

A great Democracy does not accept the premise that any of its citizens “deserve” to suffer.

A great democracy does not accept the premise that some of its children deserve to starve.

The business of the United States is not business but the promotion of civilization and with it the civilizing effect of a government that works to protect the rights and to promote the interests
of the citizens it represents.

The only reason I can think of to explain the “politics” of what should be a medical and human rights issue is that we “politicize” what we don’t want to change.

It is wrong to send a person who is gravely ill with schizophrenia to live on the streets.

When my Grandparents saw it they considered it evil, but they belonged to the generation that voted to enact the New Deal. My Grandparents understood the difference between socialism and an investment in the health of the nation and in the quality of our lives in our towns and cities.

They did not believe that they deserved to tiptoe through human feces on a walk to the market.

They also didn’t understand how a generation raised with as much access to information and education as mine could accept such a sight and simply ignore it.

Obviously, there are people who believe that mental illness represents a moral weakness or stupidity.

I always find it disturbing that people think that because I am articulate I cannot possibly have a mental illness.

We are plagued by a mentality that views some people as more deserving than others and that actively supports removing essential resources from those they deem unworthy of life.

We have a dark history of eugenics in the United States.

It is important to remember that the arguments against slavery consisted of accusing the federal government of interfering in “States Rights.”

The fact that slavery was legal does not change the fundamental evil of using other people as slaves.

The fact that it is currently legal to discharge the sick directly from the hospital to the street does not change the fact that it is a breach of civilized conduct.
In a democracy the government is the people, perhaps never more so than when the people want to distance themselves from their collective decisions by treating their government as a separate and malignant entity.

But We the People are responsible for what the government does in our name.

If the government is bad, it’s because we are bad. If the government is unjust, it is because we are unjust.

The government is responsible for enforcing the rule of law as it did when it used troops to enforce desegregation.

The entire move to “shrink the government and drown it in a bathtub” was designed to strip the federal government of its ability to enforce Civil Rights laws.

What can the people who are the government of the United States do to help?

We can stop using our government as a weapon for plunder and punishment.

The founding premise of modern democracy is the responsibility of the majority to protect the rights of the minority.

What does this mean for people with mental illness?

Repeal all versions of the Lanterman-Petris Short act in all states and restore funding for a full spectrum of mental health services both institutional and community.

And we can stop pretending that we don’t know what to do.

If we really don’t know what to do it is because we haven’t bothered to access the videotaped history of the 20th Century.

Robert I love your writing that I have just discovered. Can we set up the Skype interview for next week Wednesday or Thursday at 11 a.m. EST. I am located in Michigan. I am looking forward to chatting with you.
Let me know what works for you. My skype name is emmapalova. I will add you to my friends. Keep up the great writing. Talk to you soon. I have received the Neubacher Award for reporting on mental issues. I am very proud of that. It is very encouraging. Sometimes I feel the same despair.
Thank you
Emma

Hello Rob, wanted to thank you for the interview. I am working on the story as we speak. Just wanted to check few things with you when did you start experiencing these alternates and what was your first distinct episode with them?
As well when were you diagnosed with DID?
And is the government funding enough help for you and what more could they do?
Thanks Emma

In your opinion, what do you think could be done to improve the situation, as well as to give more credibility to what most people consider is not an illness at all?
I truly admire your perseverance.
Looking forward to you response. Emma. Also had a chance to connect with Andy by email.

I think we need to stop pretending that our current solutions to the problems of poverty and mental illness have any relationship at all to civilized behavior and ask ourselves if we want to stop our self destructive descent into barbarism. If the answer is yes, than we have at least a century of hell to go through before we are finally conquered and dispensed with as a nation. I’m glad I won’t have to live through it.